So last time I updated this I had just gotten into Chile, Calama.
Calama to San Pedro;
So after we arrived in Calama, we realised rather quickly that we couldn't stay there for any period of time as it was so BORING and expensive! The choices; got straight to Santiago (a 22 hour bus journey) straight after this 10 hour journey, or take a two hour bus to a local tourist town call San Pedro de Atacama- we choose the latter. It was so funny though as we booked the 4pm bus to San Pedro, it was 3pm on watches so we went for lunch and had a walk around, then went back to the bus station and found out it was 5pm, the land border crossing had fooled us again and we were one hour ahead so had missed the bus; luckily there was loads of room on the bus so she let us the next one! I am so glad we went there as the little hotel we stayed in had lovely cosy beds and hot water, the town itself was quaint and in the desert giving us an extra experience, it was rather pricey but it was ok and we weren't looking forward to travelling the next day to Santiago. Having a nice meal and some mojitos, we enjoyed the town and did some tourist shopping as per norm. Probably my favourite place in Chile in hindsight lol!
Calama to Santiago-
Going back on ourselves, we took the two hour bus to Calama through the Atacama Desert (fab views!) then onwards to Santiago. The bus journey was a NIGHTMARE!!! 22 hours, small snacks and three films; one- 127 hours (arm cut off), two- death race or something which was about murdering people, three- Mayan sacrifice film (people getting sacrificed and killed in full horror on screen). We then had to contend with people telling us were going to be killed in Santiago as it is so dangerous!!!!! We arrived though and realised it wasn't so bad, pretty nice place and very European by south American standards. After leaving the bus station we booked for our next trip to Mendoza, Argentina (whoop whoop!!!) and caught a cab to one of the best hostels ever; La Chimba in the Bohemian District;
Going back on ourselves, we took the two hour bus to Calama through the Atacama Desert (fab views!) then onwards to Santiago. The bus journey was a NIGHTMARE!!! 22 hours, small snacks and three films; one- 127 hours (arm cut off), two- death race or something which was about murdering people, three- Mayan sacrifice film (people getting sacrificed and killed in full horror on screen). We then had to contend with people telling us were going to be killed in Santiago as it is so dangerous!!!!! We arrived though and realised it wasn't so bad, pretty nice place and very European by south American standards. After leaving the bus station we booked for our next trip to Mendoza, Argentina (whoop whoop!!!) and caught a cab to one of the best hostels ever; La Chimba in the Bohemian District;
The Bohemian district had a massive amount of shops, bars and restaurants, so after the 22 hour bus journey plus the long journey to day before, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice three course Italians; bruschettas to start, ravioli and gnocchi for mains and tiramisu for dessert....yum yum!!!!! After the meal we headed around the city a little, looked at the big fountains and big buildings scattered everywhere and general relaxed before heading back to the hostel for a big Internet sesh and watching T.V.
The next day we checked out of the hotel and travelled a little more of Santiago, taking a cart up a mountain in the middle of the city to see a giant statue of the Virgin Mary of a similar stance and style as that of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janerio. The views were amazing and we were going to enjoy them on the walk down until we realised the height of the mountain, so we took the cart haha! Heading to the bus station after having to sprint due to a crazy taxi driver, we grabbed food and got ready for 8 hour mountain crossing into Argentina, I was so excited!!! Ive always wanted to go to Argentina and this was my opportunity to complete a dream haha!
Santiago to Mendoza-
The crossing was immense!!! We were slowing winding our way up a mountain, but I was so intensely reading that when I looked up we were surrounded by snow!!
When I was told we would be entering Argentina via an Andean crossing, I expected a valley, not literally driving up and over the Andes, the border crossing was a large shed in a snow field.....so cold! Colder than Newcastle now!!! The journey back down was nice, with some very interesting geological features in the rocks and such, then with agricultural fields, sycamore trees and wild horses.....exactly what I imagined it would be like in Argentina. We pulled into Mendoza at around Six pm and went to a hostel (hotel Aragon) which was quite frankly terrible, the toilet and shower were in the same cubicle and the doors didn't fit properly, horrible horrible horrible! But the actually city was very nice as we saw when we walked around the next day, a very nice park in the centre of the city and lovely coffee shops scattered everywhere, we could easily have been in France and Italy for the nice weather and very European Argentines surrounding us.
Mendoza to Rosario-
Rosario was where I found my first Maldivas memorial, I had been waiting to see one since I had arrived in the great country. Maldivas are the Argentine work for Falkland Islands, and they have taken the whole defeat very strongly and personally.
Overall Rosario was a fun place but with very limited activities and we were looking forward to leaving that night for our penultimate destination in South America; Buenos Aires!! Rosario allowed me to gain an insight into the strong political feelings which are present consistently throughout Argentina; every street corner a political poster or two, graffiti of "Viva Evita" and or presidential candidates. Every conversation with a Porteno
Rosario to Buenos Aires-
Leaving Rosario, my spirits were high as I was going to the city which I had dreamed of for uncountable years....Buenos Aires, referred to as the 'Paris of the South'. I personally was to be here for ten days and Ben for five. We finally arrived in Buenos Aires at midnight, and after waiting for 45 minutes for a cab to the hotel, we arrived at the hotel and were told that the booking was wrong and that for that night we had no room! Luckily there was a dorm available for the night so that was sorted rather quickly but I did panic that we would have to sleep outside the Casa Rosada for the night!!!! The hostel we had booked into was fab! The room had two floors with my bed upstairs and Ben's bed downstairs giving us mini rooms each which was nice, with this the hostel manager was so helpful and nice that it is highly recommended for everyone!
The first day was everything I had hoped for, a visit to the Casa Rosada (the Pink House) otherwise known as the government palace. The square outside the palace is seeped in history, Evita Peron and her infamous husband Juan held rallies, political inaugurations, and finally public masses for her death. The famous 'disapperances' of the '70s were started here, and the newest speeches by the redeeming presidents of the latter years have brought new hope to Argentina all in this square...so impressive!
Following Evita's story seeing as she is the most famous person in Argentina and from whom all Argentine history stems (the peronist party is still in power form her death, and politicians compare themselves to her even though she wasn't president or even vice-president), we went to a dedicated Evita museum which was very interesting and full of her personal items, then onwards to her final resting place in the Recoleta Cemetery. Evita's death story is just as interesting as her life; after dying from cancer in 1952 she was embalmed on her husbands orders so that she would be permanently incorruptible (her husbands idea was that the people were attached to her and therefore they needed to see her in order to keep him), the idea was to place her in a memorial however her husbands presidential term ended abruptly in 1954 and from there her body went missing ending up in Milan under an assumed name, in 1970 she was exhumed and brought back to Argentina in the late '70s. Her eldest sister had a family vault in the recoleta cemetery where the rich were buried and so it was decided this would be the safest place in which to store her; three stories beneath with hidden trapdoors and in a nuclear proof bunker so that in Thomas Eloys words "her body can no longer enter the politics of the country, only her soul will continue the struggle". Going into the recoleta cemetery knowing these facts was a weird feeling, knowing she was interred there and that this poor illegitimate child in Argentina still holds such great power in the country she loved! On my 22nd birthday, Ben and I went to a local tango show and dinner, a major part of Argentine culture especially in the Boca region of Buenos Aires. This show was fab with collection from the hotel and unlimited Argentine wine!!!!!! It finally came to the time though when Ben was returning home, taking an early two hour bus to the Airport I packed up, and took my stuff to a hotel in a safer location with a single room again for safety reasons, this hotel was so nice with a massive breakfast buffet and in the middle of everything. I took this opportunity to go on walking tours of the city to integrate with some locals and learn some more Spanish, I visited nature reserves, impressive buildings and statues (including a rather disappointing one of Evita =( where she looked like she was out of Avatar!) etc. I left the city with a very heavy heart as I genuinely loved the vibe and looks of the city....I'm going back!!
Florida-
The journey to Florida was CRAZY!!!!! Most people have already heard about this but here we go again;
1st disaster; my airport shuttle was an hour late so I had to run through airport with 23kg bag plus rucksack....not fun!
2nd disaster; man sitting next to me in departures dies of a heart attack, I personally put some blame onto staff who told me they would be two minutes after I had alerted them, luckily there were a few people around so we all pitched in to check pulse/breathing etc and started administrating CPR!!
3rd disaster; no food or drink on 8 hour flight due to some other drama!
4th disaster; stuck in Bogota airport for 7 hours....most boring place on this planet!
5th disaster; on Bogota to Miami flight in-flight entertainment broke!
6th disaster; We went through massive thunderstorm!
7th semi-disaster; arrested again but I'm used to it so wasn't major!
8th disaster; hotel shuttle took 1 hour to arrive!
9th disaster; Hilton had overbooked my room and so transferred me to another hotel half and hour away
1st success; beautiful room and free fresh cookies =D!
After that disastrous night, I awoke to a beautiful free buffet breakfast at the Doubletree, went online for a short while, collected my bags and got a free shuttle to the airport again to catch a bus to the tri-rail which goes from Miami International Airport to Palm Beach where my Grandad lives. This went really well and I met a lovely girl on board called Dana, so we chatted about politics the whole way, I got off the train and got picked up by Grandad for a week of fun, relaxation and warmth =D
I also got the opportunity to look through old photos of the family which I have never seen before (including photos of my mum as a child!), learning as much as I could about the family as it is such an interesting subject! Spending time with family for lunch and coffee was fab and I hope to see them again very (very) soon! (Have you seen how sun burnt my feet are from the beach!!!!)
And I am so glad to have had the opportunity to meet Uncle Earl before he passed away, such a great man with so many stories, RIP Uncle Earl and so many condolences to your family =(
I will update in the next few days with the last two blogs; Costa Rica + Atlanta and then a final review =D
